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Fear of Shadows
Shadows Awaken Another one flew out the door, their eyes rolled up into the backs of their head. They struggled to get up, and ultimately collapsed. Harlan took a step out of the bar through the hole in the wall he had made. "Don't tell me how to play Go Fish." he spat. His muscles were tensed, veins popping. Harlan was absolutely livid. He sent a powerful kick to one of their heads, rendering them unconscious. "We...we were playing Blackjack..." one of them murmured, coughing up blood. Harlan spun towards them, slamming the butt of his shotgun into their face. He sheathed his shotgun and walked away from the mess. It was time to get back to the crew, otherwise Marines would show up and he wasn't in the mood for any of that. "You're quite the rowdy one." Spoke a man whom exited the bar behind Harlan. His face was covered by his large black hat. Although the angle he wore his hat left side of his face visible, revealing a strange symbol on his cheeks, which ultimately appeared like swirls that eventually let to form some strange ember, almost like a symbol of energy. "This wouldn't happen to be you, would it?" The man held up a wanted poster displaying Harlan, the cheek markings shifted a bit, which hinted towards the individual smiling. Harlan spun around to face the source of the voice. He had strange swirls on his face that confused Harlan, but most things did. Especially Miku's nagging that he couldn't eat Hatsune. As the man continued to talk, Harlan realized he should leave. He didn't have the time for this. But his immature side, the most prominent side of him wouldn't let him. He had to be sarcastic. "No, thats actually my twin brother, Haurier Marlan." the hybrid responded, rolling his eyes. "Of course that's me, you daft cunt. Question is, what do you want?" The smile on the man's face faded. He then lifted his head, revealing his full force to Harlan. "My name is Mauricio Kerrim, you culo." His red eyes gazed towards at Harlan, although they lacked any aggression. "Listen, we're both pirates, we both want some extra cash. So what say you help me out and just turn yourself in. Spare us both the trouble." "I think I'd get more money selling your organs." Harlan retorted. "Or not, I'd get like what? 100? You're not worth the effort. Now, fuck off." "Witty comeback fur ball." Kerrim shot back, "If you want me to fuck off, come and make me, tonto." Another cocky smirk rose on Kerrim's face, he extended his arm at Harlan, palms open. "Unless this puppy is all bark and no bite." Harlan snarled, and took a step forward. But a memory suddenly flashed through his mind. Harlan took in a deep breath. The voice of Nanashi echoed through his mind. "Harlan...you must rema--" "Fuck it." Harlan murmured, charging forward on his fours. He was by Kerrim in an instant, and sent a kick towards his chin. Kerrim's chin up to his face parted in the wake of Harlan's kick, becoming dark like energy before shifting back together, his face returning to normal. He aimed his arm now to met Harlan's body below him, a menacing stare. "Try again, perdente." He taunted, releasing a full force shot of his Gale Force Shadow. Harlan cursed under his breath. A Logia user, he had enough fun with that when he trained with Nanashi. As his eyes met with Kerrim's, Harlan smiled, hoping to anger the man. The squire surrounded his body with Busoshoku Haki, the shadows splitting around him. Harlan shot off the ground once the shadows faded, creating some distance between the two. Harlan unsheathed his shotgun in one fluid movement and fired an Electro-infused shell straight at Kerrim. "Beninteso, Haki." Kerrim stated, Harlan put a distance between them, which is what Kerrim truly wanted. He adjusted his hat, feeling a sudden sting in his chest. He'd seen the bullet, initially ignoring it at first, however now it had caught his attention. "Oh right, Mink, Electro, of course. I can be a bit of a tonto myself you see." In Kerrim's arms swirled a spiral of black energy. After stabilizing it, he whirled his arms forward like a windmill, tilting his body along with it to avoid pulling any muscles. Shot forward a devastating barrage of small, razor sharp shadows. The ground and a few buildings began to adopt scars and destruction from the attack, Nero Wing. Harlan raised a brow. "You're the...tonto, ya cuck." Harlan retorted, not actually knowing what a 'tonto' was. He hoped it was an insult of some form. Harlan kept his layer of Haki around him, the shadows pushing him back slightly as his feet pushed into the ground. Harlan had gone through training with Vánagandr, and fought that Hurricane Bitch. Kerrim's attack? It was childs play. Harlan charged towards Kerrim once more, letting his layer of Haki vanish off of him. He instead surrounded his hands with the power of Electro, the energy making a loud chirp-like noise. He shot to his feet in an instant and brought his right hand storming towards Kerrim's chest. Kerrim's body dissipated to shadows, moving around to Harlan's back side, and moving away a decent distance as well. He then reappeared back in his usual form, having evaded Harlan's assault. It had only taken awhile for Kerrim to realize what Harlan had been doing, using the light produced from his Electro in order to hurt him. "I guess you're more abile than I predicted." Kerrim sighed, he manifested black energy in his hand again. "Let's try this again." He once more fired his Nero Wing, yet the target wasn't Harlan. Instead, Kerrim increased the range and power to destroy the buildings in the vicinity, knocking debris everywhere. He'd done so to use the falling bricks and houses to crush Harlan, seeing as his Devil Fruit attacks weren't going to do much. After all, he was wanted dead or alive. The buildings had begun to collapse all around Harlan, falling towards him. The debris flew towards him, but he wasn't worried. Kerrim was nothing more that another nuisance in his day. Harlan let his Electro surround him. As the energy chirped and crackled around him, everything felt slower to him. The sound of falling debris, the sound of the panicking bystanders. He blitzed forward, cleanly avoiding the debris. And he wasn't done there, he arrived near Kerrim and sent a kick towards the side of his jaw. Kerrim however, had thought of this ahead of time. The falling debris served for more than simply crushing Harlan, but produced more shadows for him to manipulate. He began to expand and stitch the shadows together, encompassing Harlan's own to temporarily halt him. Kerrim's body turned to shadow once more, now positioning himself atop a building. "The bigger the shadow, the more light it'll take to tear her apart. That little night light you got ain't gonna do niente." He looked to the distance, noticing incoming Marines, possibly responding to the destruction he'd caused. Harlan snarled. "Suck...a dick." he growled, letting his Electro slowly diminish away. Harlan's Busoshoku Haki returned, enveloping him in an instant. The Haki was shaped in the form of a cloak, with ragged ends. Then the Electro reappeared, slowly mixing itself into the Haki. The Haki changed from its obsidian black to a beacon blue, sending a wave of electricity outwards. "Wolf Cloak: Tonbokiri!" With those words leaving his mouth, lightning shooting off into the shadows, dispersing them. "I love me." Harlan boasted, before seemingly manifesting behind Kerrim. All that remained to show signs of Harlan's presence there was a bright blue afterimage. Harlan went to swipe his claws against the mans back. From Kerrim's shadow emerged a single open hand that intercepted Harlan's attack. It didn't last long due to the immense light the mink hybrid was emitting, although it had managed to save Kerrim the pain. It was also safe to note that now, the size of Kerrim's shadow had grown, the shadows used to hold Harlan were now attached to the growing shadow beneath Kerrim's feet. Another hand emerged from the growing shadow, taking the form of a closed fist, sending a swift jab to Harlan's underside. Much like the previous shadow, it didn't persist long, but hopefully long enough to get the job done. "I always try to keep a distance, but tonto like you just don't wanna listen. So don't blame me if you get hurt. Sometimes-" Numerous more shadowy hands began to emerge from the shadow beneath Kerrim, forming a ring around him like a defense. "I just can't control myself." The blinding light from all the electricity had handled the jab as if it were nothing, causing it to disperse like cotton candy in water. The electricity crackled around Harlan and the boy simply smiled. He didn't think he'd be able to hold Tonbokiri for as long as he was. Clearly his training with Nanashi had paid off. "All this for me? Can't say I'm surprised, I'm obviously in high demand." Harlan jested, crouching. "And please, don't hold back. More fun for me if there's somewhat of a challenge involved." On all fours, Harlan rapidly blitzed through the defensive ring of hands. With every pounce forward he took, the shadows around him retreated. They feared him, and who could blame them? Harlan commanded fear with his fingertips, he was The Haunted. Instead of sending a kick or a swipe of the claws at Kerrim, Harlan leaped at him. Any shadows that would come near him would disperse much quicker, Harlan was practically a powerful source of light at this point. His hopes were to grab and wrap himself around Kerrim, and electrocute him; not to kill him, but to just incapacitate. For now, that was. As Harlan came full speed at Kerrim, he began to evade. He entered his Shadow Form, aiming to reposition. However, he was just barely quick enough, managing to escape by a hair. As he landed on another roof, putting yet another gap between Harlan and himself. "Damn, he doesn't know when to quit." The Explosive Wolf Somewhere, nearby, a figure approached. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. The sound was loud but not enough for the two pirates to hear at that distance. The cause of this sound was no other than Lowell Harlee, a Marine commander who was currently on-duty, she used her Devil Fruit powers to burst through the air like a rocket, with each explosion getting closer to the fight's location. Prior to this event, nothing really interesting happened in the island she was assigned, so when she first heard the noises of guns and destruction, a wide grin couldn't help but form on her face. "I've got to be fast, who knows who could be in danger?" she thought to herself as she got closer to her destination. Now, she could see two figures, one of them on top of a roof, while the other remained on the streets. The latter was easy to spot, due to the light that emerged from them. Surely, the shining figure was stupid as only they would think that dazzling like a christmas tree would be a smart move. Or perhaps, this person did not mind the attention and even craved it. After all, it would increase their bounty. These thoughts passed through Harlee's head as she landed on a nearby roof. "Let's see what we've got." She formed binoculars with her hands for dramatic effect and looked at the now clear figures. A man clad mainly in black, with an extravagant hat looked down from the roof to a white-haired, dark-skinned mink. Harlee's eyes widened like plates and her jaw comically dropped to the floor. "EHHHHH, HARLAN IS THAT YOU?" she screamed, not minding the repercussions of such an act. Harlan turned to the source of the voice, his smile becoming a madmans grin. "HARLEE!!!!" he yelled, zooming over to beside her. "HEY SIS, WHAT YOU UP TO? YOU CATCH ANY BAD GUYS?" Without waiting for a response, he blitzed off towards the building Kerrim stood on. The hybrid ran up the wall, the speed at which he was travelling at making it possible to do so. Lightning arced off of his back as Harlan stepped up yet another gear, sweat covering his forehead now. Maintaining Tonbokiri was difficult enough, but amping it up every other second was also a pain. The arcs of lightning crackled about, breaking through surrounding building and creating craters in the ground. Harlan wasn't focused on that, however. Harlan was on the roof in an instant since he had left Harlee's side, and gone for yet another tackle on Kerrim. Kerrim had used the small amount of time between Harlee & Harlan's exchange to manifest a shadow beneath him. He used it to blast himself up, but once again, he wasn't quick enough. He'd managed to escape being tackled, but he collided with Harlan's shoulder, making direct contact with his Haki barrier. This caused Kerrim to flip over him, tumbling off the roof before following right into the streets. In pain, he began to stand up, holding his injured arm. He looked up at the Marine, yelling out to her. "You're just gonna let this Pirate run amok?!" According to what he'd heard, these two were siblings. Even then, it was Harlee's job as a Marine to stop Pirates. He was going to use this to his advantage, using his hat to hide his own identity from the Marine in case she recognized him. "WHOS THE TONTO NOW, YA CUCK!" Harlan roared as he leaped from the roof, aiming to grab Kerrim once more. "Oy, oy, I was just getting to that, alright?" she said, rolling her eyes as she did so. Usually, she'd be way more supportive of whoever was getting beat up. Knowing her brother though, this person probably did something to piss him off and was definitely not an innocent person, the ones who Harlee really defended. Gazing at her brother who was about to jump, she couldn't help but grin once more. It had been a while since their first fight and while her brother had improved, confidence surged through her. She took a deep breath before her facial expression changed, eyes narrowing down, and the grin disappearing. She was fully concentrated now, as she must be, if she wanted to even damage the squire. She took a deep-rooted stance, feet firmly planted on the floor as she raised both of her arms so that they were over her head. While at first, seemingly nothing came from this position, soon, a black, strong-smelling dust amassed on her hands, slowly taking the shape of a lance that sat comfortably on the palms of her hands. She winded up her arms slightly and then proceeded to throw the weapon with full force. The spear tore through the air at incredible speeds, reminiscent to a swooping eagle hunting for its prey. It seemed like a nearly unavoidable attack once it was released and its made its way to the area where Harlan would fall down to meet Kerrim. However, Harlee wasn't done here, before it could make contact with anyone or anything, she shot a ray of lightning from her fingertip, that quickly reached the gunpowder construct. The result was deadly. An explosion that damaged anything in the spear's proximity ranging from the earth itself to the nearby buildings. It produced a miniature shockwave that could cause sizeable damage, if they weren't prepared. Kerrim's body became a flash of shadow due to Harlee's attack. Thankfully, she hadn't imbued the attack with her Haki. The shadows reassembled as Kerrim a distance away from where he was previously. He tipped his hat to Harlee, still hiding his face from view. Then his focus turned back to Harlan. "Still you, perdente." Kerrim's body became shadow once more, fleeing the scene and leaving the squire & marine to battle it out. Harlan crashed right into the spear, and it blew. The Electro from Harlan merged with it, and it sent Harlan flying backwards. Of course, Tonbokiri protected him from the main brunt of the explosion via the Busoshoku Haki ingrained in it. As the layers of smoke faded, Harlan rose to his feet, slowly but surely. Tonbokiri faded away, a small burst of electricity shooting outwards in a circular motion. “That…was AWESOME!” Harlan exclaimed. “Sis, you were like kachow! And the spear went kaboom! You’ve gotten better, haven’t ya?” BANG Harlan fell to his knees, gripping his gut. Blood was gushing out, but how? He looked up towards Harlee and spotted a new man. He was taller than Harlee, with blond hair and camo-based clothing. He held a glock in his hand…was he the man that had shot him? “Attention, criminal.” the man spoke. “I, Captain Esposito of the Marines am here to take you in.” Harlan winced as he felt the bullet lodged inside of him. Maybe he shouldn’t have overreacted this morning when the people didn’t know how to play Go Fish. Harlan surrounded the tips of his fingers and jammed it into the wound, cauterizing the wound. Harlan had only learned how to do that from all the times he had gotten beat up when he trained under Vànagandr. Still feeling a bucket load of pain, Harlan got back to his feet, and put on a confident smile. “You can try.” Marco rolled his eyes. “Pirate, just surrender. I don’t want to hurt you much.” he said. The Captain tilted his head to the side. “And the other one that was here. I can sense you with my Kenbunshoku. Show yourself.” Kerrim's body reformed on a roof adjacent to that of Harlee & Marco. His hat was titled, still covering his face, although the marking on his left cheek revealed itself. "This Pirate here has caused so much destruction, don't you see, I was only defending myself." Kerrim stated, a smirk was evident from the way his marking had moved about his cheek. Marco shot a bullet at him, the bullet composed from the dormant sparks laying about. "Stand in front of me. I've asked nicely." A shadowy hand emerged and caught the bullet before releasing and letting it fall aside. "I don't think I want to do that, especially with someone as trigger happy as you." Marco & Harlee's shadows began to expand and link together, more shadows linking themselves to the shadows of the two marines. Kerrim stopping their movements with his Umbral Web. "What if I were a simple citizen whom was caught in the crossfire." Marco turned his head to the side, smirking. "Boom." he uttered. As if it was voice-activated, the bullet he had made burst into a beacon of electricity arcing out everywhere. The light broke through the shadows constraints on him and Harlee. "Shadows are weak to light, doesn't take a genius to figure that one out." Harlan had climbed up the building to stand beside Kerrim. "Alright you tonto, I'll take a break from winning. We might have to team up to fight these guys. You down?" Kerrim gave a sigh at Harlan's words, seriously, how could one person be so cocky? "Not like I have much of a choice, testa di cazzo." Kerrim then pulled his hat back, allowing Harlee & Marco to get a full view of his face. "Just keep your party lights away from my shadows." "Yeah...testa di cazzo you too." Harlan responded not knowing what the word meant. He tossed aside the leather jacket he wore and got onto his fours. Electricity crackled around him. "Let's dance!" Hunting Scum "Huh, teaming up now are we?" One of Harlee's brow raised in confusion. "Well, doesn't really matter to me" her words were followed by the sound of what appeared to be her knuckles cracking. 1 on 1, 2 on 2, it all meant the same to her, or so was her original train of thought but memories of her last encounter with Harlan flooded her brain. She remembered how shameful that loss was, simply because of a lack of teamwork. So this time, she'd try her best. Her fists curled into balls and she shot a quick glance at Marco. Despite both being Marines, she had little info on the man. Though from what she could tell, appeared to have some sort of bullet manipulation and that was enough to set her plan into motion. She crouched down momentarily, gunpowder forming around her palms before she detonated them, BOOM. Harlee blasted herself into the sky, propelling herself like a rocket as she began to mass produce the element on her sides, akin to wings. As she flew from the sky like a hawk, the wind caressing her face with its not so gentle breeze, she thrust her arms forward and pellets were released from the wings she had previously created. They were sharp and hardened with Haki which her opponents probably couldn't notice since the color remained about the same. The speed at which they flew threw the air was akin to a machine gun and from where she stood, the attack was what one would call a "rain of death". Landing on a nearby, higher building that was close to her partner's as well as her opponent's, she analyzed the battlefield, hoping to learn how everyone would react to her attack. Kerrim smirked, amassing a shield of shadows to protect himself, and surprisingly, Harlan from the barrage of gunpowder. Although it held out for the most part, some of the gunpowder managed to get through the barrier. Kerrim's outfit was left with numerous tears from the assault, not to mention the blood. There was also some gunpowder that had stuck into his skin, notably one on his left arm that he had injured earlier. Two more were stuck in the back of both of his hands, seeing as Kerrim put them up to protect his face from any harm. Kerrim let the shield fall aside, glancing over to Harlan. "Get in there and take them down, I'll do my best to help from a distance." He began to remove the gunpowder that had latched into his skin, causing some bleeding. He took some of the loose strands of his tattered clothing, tying it around the wounds to stop too much blood from leaking out. "I don't take orders from you." Harlan retorted. "...I was going to do that anyways." Harlan leaped down from the roof, a slight boost of speed from the Electro. He charged towards Marco, growling. Marco simply changed guns, now holding a Dragonuv SVD. Then, Haki began to wrap around Marco, but it took upon the shape of armour. This was Marco's Indomitable Fortress. As soon as Harlan was in range, the hybrid jumped at full speed to slam into Marco. As he did, nothing happened. It was as if all the kinetic energy behind that attack had been absorbed, which was exactly what happened. Harlan's Electro vanished, being consumed by Marco to make lightning bullets. Marco grabbed Harlan by the hair and lifted him off the ground, tossing him up slightly. The Captain proceeded to release the kinetic energy upwards, blasting Harlan into the air. Marco proceeded to fire a few of the lightning bullets at Kerrim. However, Harlan had been blasted into the air. As he reached the apex of his flight, he unsheathed his shotgun and aimed it at Harlee. "Sorry, sis." he thought to himself before firing a shell right towards her thigh. Harlee however, had been analyzing the battlefield since after her move. She saw how effectively Kerrim had protected himself and Harlan from her gunpowder needles and how easily Marco had won the confrontation. So when her brother flew through the air and fired a shell at her, she wasn't the least surprised. The shell tore through the air itself and directed itself towards Harlee at speeds beyond comprehension. Despite being a normal shotgun bullet, its power was not to be underestimated. Were the bullet to make contact, it would rip through Harlee's thighs and incapacitate her. It would mean defeat. Gathering Electro at the bottom of her feet, she gained a speed reminiscent to Harlan's Tonbokiri or well, a less-powered version of it. At the last second, she sidestepped, the bullet grazing her skin as she managed to narrowly dodge the bullet. "Argh" she gritted her teeth, revealing her sharp canine fangs. Ripping a part of her dress, she quickly wrapped it around her thigh to prevent any blood loss. With the Electro still surrounding her feet and Harlan now falling back to the ground, she took a deep-rooted stance, her front leg planted onto the ground. With all her might, she swung her other leg forward at speeds surpassing what the naked eye could recognize. The result of this motion were three slashes of Electro that converged from different positions to where Harlan would be if he kept on falling. She didn't stay still after this motion though, no, she would take advantage of her partner's long-ranged attack to approach Kerrim. Jumping from building to building while attempting to remain unseen. Kerrim watched the battle from his position, noticing when Marco shot the electrically charged bullets. His face evident with anger, of course he'd be stuck in a battle with a trio of lightning wielding maniacs. He emitted a swift burst of shadows underneath his feet, allowing him to avoid the bullets. He noticed Harlee was no longer in her former position, something telling him to get prepared. His eyes caught sight of bullet Harlan had shot at him earlier. Kerrim had a shadow hand grab the bullet and hand it to him. It wasn't much, but it was something. He awaiting the arrival of the mink hybrid with open arms. As Harlan fell, his instincts took over, the voice of his master ringing through his head. He fired another shell at Harlee with deadly accuracy, having been sharpened by his adrenaline. He continued to fall, but he had a plan. More like 12% of a plan. Harlan began to search through his mind, searching for something. The fears of others, people he had come into contact earlier that day. He clung onto the first one he could remember, and the miasma shot out of him, taking the form of a giant goldfish beneath him. The destructive shots of electricity that Harlee had launched crashed into the fish, causing cracks to appear around it. Harlee had clearly gotten stronger than Harlan had anticipated. The cracked fish slammed into the ground below and acted as a cushion of sorts for Harlan to land on. He shot to his feet, and yelled down from the goldfish. "BOOYAH! And, uh. Nice electric thingies, sis." Marco ignored that whole thing, hoping that Harlee could handle it. He fired another lightning bullet at Kerrim, stealing the lightning from Harlee's Electro to do so. Harlan's bullet was deadly accurate but seeing as how Harlee had already disappeared from sight, the shell hit the ground instead. The hybrid instead, approached Kerrim with the ferociousness of a wild beast. Once in proximity, she used the gunpowder and electro combination to fly above the roof her opponent stood on. This would surely take him by surprise. While in the air, she released large amounts of gunpowder, in its natural, particle form that would quickly reach the man. While this would seem like a useless move, her partner's Electro bullet traveled in his direction and if it were to make contact with any of the gunpowder, destruction would ensue. Kerrim had little time to react. Almost on instinct, his body sunk into the shadows. He'd avoided the Electro bullet, thankfully sparing himself that pain. When the bullet met the gunpowder, it resulted in powerful explosion. Kerrim avoided the initial shock, but the explosion resulted in a brief flash of light that caused him to revert back to his physical form for a second. Kerrim found himself falling due to the destruction of the building, although, it was nothing he could handle. Kerrim entered his Shadow Tempest state, quickly moving away from Harlee in the process. Those two had teamwork, sure, but hopefully he could pull off a few tricks along with the rowdy, and obviously idiotic Harlan. Kerrim, as a spiral of shadows, flew towards Marco at breakneck speeds. He aimed to encircle him, keeping his body mass intangible to allow a specific mink the opportunity to strike. He just hoped the fool could see what the plan was. Harlan grinned at the sight of the rapidly spinning tempest of shadows. He may have not had the best feelings towards things like that, but he couldn't help but acknowledge how badass they were. Harlan leaped off of the goldfish platform he had been standing on, passing through Kerrim's shadowy state. Now inside the storm, he surrounded his hands in Electro before charging in towards Marco. He brought his left arm down in a violent swing, but Marco blocked it with his gun, absorbing the Electro. However, Harlan's intuition came in clutch. Harlan grabbed Marco with his right arm, swinging him around before throwing him through Kerrim. Marco crashed outside, letting out a groan of annoyance. Harlan charged towards the captain once again, tackling the man. Marco took the hit, but still fired various lightning bullets towards the shadow tempest, the large amount of electricity would definitely do something this time. Dealing with Harlan, Marco kneed the boy in the gut, tossing him to the side. Marco got to his feet and shot a bullet straight through Harlan's forearm. "You two shouldn't get ahead of yourselves." the marine began. "Justice always wins." As the bullets collided with Kerrim's shadow form, he erupted in a booming scream of pain. Following the attack, Kerrim was left severely wounded. He hunched over, barely able to stand until he couldn't anymore, falling over on his knees, head up towards the sky gasping for air. "Screw....justice." Kerrim had given up on such a thing a long time ago. Noticing the state in which Kerrim was in, Harlee took advantage of the situation instantly. Her stance changed so that she was in all fours, her animal side taking over. Once again she utilized her Kaya Kaya no Mi to fly towards the weakened pirates. Mid-trajectory she coated her right arm with Busoshoku Haki as she cocked it back, the arm now taking a black hue. Harlee was quite literally a bullet right now, if her fist were to make contact with her opponent's gut, it would more than likely spell the end for him. Hearing the continuous boom of explosions, Kerrim, still in pain and weak, turned over to see the wolf-mink girl hurdling at him at unprecedented speeds. Time seemed to slow as he awaited his demise, what should've been seconds felt like an eternity. Strangely, he felt a sense of comfort. Something that was strange yet familiar. A hazy memory, one of an individuals soft lips flashed in Kerrim's mind. It was strange, he couldn't remember whomever these lips belonged to, yet their voice was clear as day. "Don't die here." She whispered. Suddenly, Kerrim returned to his senses. His head titled at Harlee, suddenly realizing how severe his condition was. Almost by instinct, he coated himself in layers of Haki. Somehow, someway, this strange memory of this individual had triggered a memory in him. The man's skin took a black hue at what appeared to be the latest instance. Knowing that at this point it was too late for her to withdraw or second-guess herself, Harlee thrust her arm forward with killer intent and her blow was met by Kerrim's will itself. Haki against Haki, one's will to surpass her brother against the other's will to remain alive. Their clash caused the earth beneath them to crack and tremble as well as the air, whose breeze was usually soft, flowed violently. It would seem that Harlee's attack could not overpower Kerrim and vice-versa, it was clearly a stalemate and so it would have remained until the shockwave that their Hakis made had formed. It sent Harlee flying backward to the nearest building wall. Harlan was groaning on the ground until he saw Harlee being blasted back. Sure, he himself had tried to beat her up many times, but he assumed that was allowed. They were related. But either way, he didn't want to see his sister crash through a wall if it wasn't him doing it. He shot to his feet, and bolted towards his sister. He shot off of the ground, grabbing her as she flew threw the air. The pair crashed onto the ground, where Harlan quickly pushed her off of him and got to his feet. The hybrid scanned the battlefield. The nearby vicinity was damaged. Kerrim and Harlee were both on the ground, Kerrim especially not being in any situation to fight now. That damned Marine had shot him up with all those bullets. Harlan's right arm began to surround itself in Haki, a dark substance taking on the shape of an armoured knights arm. Then the Electro began to seep through, melding itself with the Haki; integrating itself to become one. The substance emanated a beacon blue, electricity arcing off it and the ground lightly. "I'm gonna break you!" Harlan roared, charging towards Marco. Marco would only grin in response, reforming his Indomitable Fortress. Harlan was soon right in front of the Marine, his right arm cocked back. He sent it blitzing towards Marco, and the two beings collided, and a light show ensued. "Wolf Cloak: Mjölnir!" The Electro within Harlan's arm began to go haywire, larger and larger bolts arcing across the ground, slicing through the ground like warm butter. The Haki in Harlan's arm clashed against Marco's own. Harlan kept digging his fist into Marco, despite the powerful force pushing them apart. Raw energy began to manifest, and it released in a mighty explosion. The force pushed onto Harlan felt as if gravity had increased tenfold. He was pushed back slightly before tumbling to his knees. As the smoke cleared, the boy spotted Marco standing straight up, surrounded in his Indomitable Fortress as if nothing had happened. The only difference was that the Fortress was now coloured a dark magenta. "I don't break, kid. Not a bad attack though, not at all." the Captain teased. Harlan snarled, looking at Kerrim. Sure, the two hadn't known each other long. But Kerrim had fought alongside him, and Harlan was mad at Marco for messing him up. Harlan gingerly rose to his feet, his drive still sparking in his eyes. Marco raised an eyebrow. "Didn't expect you to stand. I thought after that you'd be useless." he said. The hybrid let out a weak laugh. "I'm not that weak." Harlan closed his eyes, and let out a deep breath. What he was about to do would hurt, if it worked at all. Harlan's plans didn't usually work out, he wasn't the smartest person. But he had no other choice but to try. With his eyes still closed, he envisioned a blade. A large broadsword held in his left hand. He imagined it taking form, solidifying itself, becoming real. Harlan suddenly felt as if something appeared in his left arm, as if his Haki had taken the form of what he had envision. Harlan almost laughed out of joy, but he knew that it would break whatever concentration he had left. The boy felt his Electro manifest around his left arm, slowly moving towards the blade. His Electro began to dig into the Haki, slowly assimilating itself into the blade. As soon as Harlan saw a dimmed beacon blue from the bottom of his closed eyes, he shot them open to admire his creation. Electricity crackled around the entire sword, coloured a beacon blue entirely; hilt and all. Harlan looked at Marco and laughed. This was the newest of his Wolf Cloak techniques; Wolf Cloak: Almace. Harlan began to pump adrenaline through him via his Devil Fruit, giving him enough strength to keep standing, and hopefully enough to keep going. "If your Haki absorbs energy...I'll just cut through your Haki!" Harlan yelled. Without waiting for a response, Harlan charged forward, moving his right arm to hold the blades hilt as well. The boy grimaced as he did so, the effects of Mjölnir aching him. The hybrid halted in front of the Captain as he raised Almace into the air. Harlan let a mad grin appear on his face as he brought the blade down, slicing against the Indomitable Fortress. Right before the blade would have crashed into the ground, it vanished. Harlan stumbled back from Marco, the strain of the battle coming down on him. For a second, Marco stood still. A visible line going straight down the Fortress. Then, the Captain took a step forward as if nothing had happened and Harlan winced. Was this the end? His answer came in form of the light leaking out of the line, and the chunks of Marco's Haki beginning to bunch up. All the stored energy from Mjölnir was trying to break free. Harlan's panicked expression became one of a grin as he began to run towards Kerrim. "BRACE FOR IMPACT, YA TONTOS!" he yelled. Then the energy burst out. Whatever town they had been in, whomever had been in it would have been destroyed by the energy, or crushed by the rubble. The energy had burst out in rings, tearing up the ground, sending chunks into the air. Buildings caved in on themselves, mincing into pieces the longer the energy kept going out. The people that came in contact with the energy were blasted forwards, crashing deep into the ground. It was a complete annihilation of the area. It was destruction incarnate. Marco, who had been at the source of the explosion had taken the brunt of it. Most of his skeletal system had been fractured or crushed, his innards bled profusely. He was only not dead because of the layers of Haki he had surrounded himself in as the full brunt of Mjölnir left his Indomitable Fortress. He had collapsed to the ground before using the last of his energy to protect Harlee, firing a bullet at the ground nearby her to encase her in layers of metal. The Captain let out a curse before fading away into unconsciousness. Aftermath Harlan's eyes slowly drifted open, his back up against a tree. Kerrim was laid against a nearby tree. As soon as Harlan noticed the energy from his Mjölnir leaking through, he had charged towards Kerrim and used the remains of his energy to surround himself in his Tonbokiri. He had grabbed Kerrim and bolted away, barely avoiding the destruction that had ensued. Harlan had collapsed soon after, but he didn't know how long it had been since the incident. Harlan winced as he felt a surge of pain. His right arm was definitely broken, alongside a few of his ribs and one of his ankles. He was covered with soot, bruises and wounds. Harlan cursed and stared up at the sky. He needed a way off of the island, back to the crew. Kerrim's eyes slowly began to open, the bright sun causing him to have raise his arm to block it out. He could feel the pain, struggling to even reach for his hat and pull it down to shield himself from the sun. There was so much to process, that flash of light, this strange ability he'd seemingly just awoken, and how he'd ended up being unscathed while the town looked like complete shit. These strange memories however, had gotten to him the most. He needed to process this, and what it meant. But for now, he had to handle one problem at a time. He looked over to Harlan, whom seemed worse for wear. "Hey, thanks for uh...thanks for saving me." Harlan looked over to face Kerrim, taking a few seconds to process what he had said. The ringing in his ears slowly faded. "Uh, yeah. No problem..." he responded. The boy groaned, staring back up into the leaves, which blocked out the sun. He looked back towards the ruins of the town...he had done that. Harlan had killed before, but never done something so destructive. He felt as if he had lost part of him in there too. Harlan could see some Marine ships approaching what remained of the port, and he sighed. He had contemplated letting them take him in, but...he had to keep his promises. He wouldn't go down until he beat his mentor. He looked towards Kerrim. "You owe me one, so..." the hybrid began. "Can you get me off this island and to a destination?" A brief sigh escaped Kerrim's mouth, which had begun to turn into a brief smile. "Sure, what's the destination kid?" He gazed at the port, the gathering marine crews. They'd be far too focused on helping citizens at the city rather than hunting down any pirates. A decent getaway. Harlan grimaced as he tried to get to his feet, struggling with every movement. His body ached, his bones creaked. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to spam the higher level techniques of Wolf Cloak, and especially with creating a new one. "Brine," he responded. "Have you heard of it?" Kerrim ran through his mind, which had already been scrambled a bit from these strange memories he'd began to experience. "Brine, eh? Yea, I've heard of the place. I'll get you there, no problem." He stood to his full height, still in pain, yet waving to something off in the distance. One could see a ship approaching the duo, getting close enough for the two to board. "Say hello to the Laughing Turtle, ain't she a beaut?" "It's a ship alright." Harlan responded, stumbling forward. Even beat up and wounded, he was still as sarcastic as ever. "Thanks for this, tonto." Harlan murmured, slighting hunched forward. Kerrim chuckled, offering to help Harlan get onto the ship. "Least I could do, testa di cazzo." Harlan accepted the help, leaning onto Kerrim. "Let's get out of here...I'm tired of fighting for once." "Couldn't agree with you more." Kerrim and Harlan made their way onto the ship, and eventually to their next stop. Brine. Category:Role-Plays Category:Finished Role-Plays